James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles, California, on 25th January 1938, to an unmarried fourteen-year-old mother, Dorothy Hawkins. According to Etta, her mother claimed that her father was the white Rudolph "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, and that they received financial support from him on the condition that they keep his paternity a secret. This seems unlikely, though it has not been definitively disproved. Etta was born in Los Angeles in 1938. At the time, Wanderone was known to be managing a pool hall in Washington, D.C. and had not yet become known to be the cross-country traveller he later became.
She received her first professional vocal training at five years old from James Earle Hines, musical director of the Echoes of Eden choir at St Paul Baptist Church in Los Angeles. Her family moved to San Francisco in 1950, and she teamed up with two other girls to form a doo-wop singing group. When the girls were fourteen, band leader Johnny Otis had them audition. They sang an answer to Hank Ballard's "Work with Me, Annie" called "Roll Wwth Me Henry". Otis particularly liked the song, and against her mother's wishes, James and the trio went to Los Angeles to record the song in 1954. The song was recorded on the label Modern Records. By this time, the trio renamed the song "The Wallflower (Dance with Me, Henry)" and released it in 1955. James named her vocal group The Peaches. Richard Berry, a Los Angeles doo-wop luminary, is featured on some of their records.
"The Wallflower" reached number two on the rhythm and blues charts in February 1955, but was undercut in the wider market by a rushed-out cover version by Georgia Gibbs on Mercury Records; in fact, the very first time Gibbs was recorded in studio, they used the first take recorded and it became number one on the top 100 songs nationally. The song's royalties were divided between Hank Ballard, Etta James, and Johnny Otis, and its huge success attracted the attention of the R&B world, resulting in James going on tour with Little Richard. On the tour, though, according to James, she witnessed and experienced situations to which minors are not usually privy, and she allegedly acquired a drug habit.
Soon after the success of "Wallflower", The Peaches and James parted company, but this did not halt her career. Shecontinued to record and release albums throughout much of the decade, and enjoyed more success. Her follow-up, "Good Rockin' Daddy", became another fifties hit. Other songs however, such as "Tough Lover" and "W-O-M-A-N" failed to gain any significant success. James toured with Johnny "Guitar" Watson and Otis Redding in the fifties, and has cited Watson as the most significant influence on her style..
In 1960, James signed a recording contract with Chess Records. She went on to have the biggest success of her career from this label, recording her biggest and most memorable hits. Chess went into high gear with James, releasing many duets with her then boyfriend, the married Harvey Fuqua, who was the lead singer of the Moonglows. One of her duets with Fuqua, "If I Can't Have You", became a hit on the R&B charts in 1960. As a solo artist however, she had more enduring success. One of her first singles released by Chess in 1960 was called "All I Could Do Was Cry"; this blues number became a big hit on the R&B charts in 1960. Leonard Chess, one of the founders of Chess Records, helped James along the way. He saw the potential for her to go in a more pop-oriented direction, and she started recording more pop tunes for the label.
The year 1961 became a year of great change for James. In 1961 came the release of one of her first pop-oriented tunes called "At Last". The song became a big hit in 1961, reaching number two on the R&B charts. The song even went as far as twenty-two on the pop charts that year. It became her signature song. Other songs, such as "Trust in Me", also became hits, and the 1962 tune "Something's Got a Hold On Me" showed more of James' gospel side, a genre she had sung since childhood.
She had other big hits in the 1960s, but mainly on the R&B charts: the song "Pushover" in 1963 and "Stop the Wedding", "Fool That I Am", and "Don't Cry Baby", were hits for her between 1961 and 1963. Her 1963 album Etta James Rocks the House, recorded at Nashville's "New Era" club, also gave her career a boost. James then became one of the most successful R&B artists of the 1960s, having many more top ten and top twenty hit singles. Performing in Memphis, Tennessee helped make her into a blues icon.
In 1967, James released her next hit single, "Tell Mama", and it became a top ten hit on the R&B charts. After a dry period of no hits for almost four years, the song once more made James a household name. The follow-up, "Security", was also a success, and proved that James had staying power on the charts again. Whilst less success came for James after this hit, she was still on the charts regularly and, despite the death of Leonard Chess, stayed with the Chess label into 1975. Towards the end of the Chess years though, she went into more rock-based songs. She recorded for many other labels, and continued to release albums, such as 1978's Deep In the Night on Atlantic Records.
Despite a dry period during the early to mid 1980s, James got back on track and began to record music again. She received accolades for her 1981 rendition of Randy Newman's "God's Song". Her 1988 album Seven Year Itch proved this comeback capability; the album showed more of her soul side. In 1989, she recorded the song "Avenue D" with David A. Stewart of Eurythmics. The song was featured on the soundtrack to the Robert Wise film Rooftops. She also performed with the Grateful Dead for two shows in 1982. In the 1990s she continued to record and perform. Her albums widely varied in styles and genres. Her 1992 album, The Right Time, was another soul album that was released by Elektra Records. She also began to record more jazz, which became the style for many of her 1990s albums.
Drug-related and romantic problems interfered with her career, but James managed to maintain a career throughout the latter half of the twentieth century. Later in life, she struggled with obesity, experiencing mobility and knee problems. In 2003, she underwent gastric bypass surgery.
In 2011, a vocal sample from Etta's "Something's Got a Hold on Me" was used in "Levels" by Avicii. "Levels" became a monster EDM hit, making Etta's "sometimes I get a good feeling" one of the most recognizable samples in 21st century music.
She died on 20th January 2012.
Silent Night
Etta James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All's asleep, one sole light,
Just the faithful and holy pair,
Lovely boy-child with curly hair,
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Silent night! Holy night!
God's Son laughs, o how bright.
As the dawn of salvation draws near,
Jesus, Lord, with your birth!
Silent night! Holy night!
Brought the world peace tonight,
From the heavens' golden height
Shows the grace of His holy might
Jesus, as man on this earth!
Silent night! holy night!
Where today all the might
Of His fatherly love us graced
And then Jesus, as brother embraced.
All the peoples on earth!
Silent night! Holy night!
Long we hoped that He might,
As our Lord, free us of wrath,
Since times of our fathers He hath
Promised to spare all mankind!
Silent night! Holy night!
Sheperds first see the sight.
Told by angelic Alleluja,
Sounding everywhere, both near and far:
"Christ the Savior is here!"
"Silent Night" is a classic Christmas carol, written by Austrian priest Joseph Mohr and set to music by Franz Xaver Gruber in 1818. The song is a reflection on the joyful and peaceful night when Jesus was born. The song's opening lines express the calm and serene atmosphere of that special night when "all's asleep" and "one sole light" shines over the holy pair, Mary and Joseph, with their beautiful baby boy.
The second verse highlights the light that shines from the holy lips of Jesus and brings salvation to the world. The song reminds us that the birth of Jesus was God's gracious act of love towards humanity. In the third verse, the carol tells of the hope and promise of Jesus as the savior who came to earth to save mankind from sin and death.
The fourth verse speaks of the shepherds who were the first to witness the birth of Jesus. The carol describes the scene where the shepherds were told by the angels about the birth of the savior, and they went to find him, spreading the good news to "all the peoples on earth." The carol ends on a joyful note, proclaiming that the Christ child is born, and he is the savior of the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Silent night! Holy night!
A peaceful and sacred night.
All's asleep, one sole light,
Everyone is sleeping except for one light, probably a guiding star.
Just the faithful and holy pair,
Only the faithful and holy couple, Mary and Joseph, are present.
Lovely boy-child with curly hair,
Their beautiful son, Jesus, with his curly hair.
Sleep in heavenly peace!
He sleeps in complete tranquility.
God's Son laughs, o how bright.
God's Son, bright and full of joy.
Love from your holy lips shines clear,
His love is apparent in his holy words.
As the dawn of salvation draws near,
Salvation is on the horizon.
Jesus, Lord, with your birth!
Jesus is the Lord because of his birth.
Brought the world peace tonight,
His birth is bringing peace to the world.
From the heavens' golden height
From the heavens, in a divine location.
Shows the grace of His holy might
The demonstration of His power and favor.
Jesus, as man on this earth!
Jesus is a man on earth.
Where today all the might
All of His power is present at this moment.
Of His fatherly love us graced
We are blessed by His fatherly love.
And then Jesus, as brother embraced.
Jesus embraces us as his brothers.
All the peoples on earth!
All of the people on earth.
Long we hoped that He might,
For a long time, we've hoped that he would come.
As our Lord, free us of wrath,
As our Lord, he frees us from anger and punishment.
Since times of our fathers He hath
He's been promising to spare mankind since our ancestors' time.
Promised to spare all mankind!
He promised to protect and forgive all people.
Sheperds first see the sight.
Shepherds were the first to witness this event.
Told by angelic Alleluja,
Angels conveyed the message of joy.
Sounding everywhere, both near and far:
The sound of the message was heard all around.
"Christ the Savior is here!"
Announcing that Christ, the Savior, has arrived.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: TRADITIONAL, ANDREA WASSE, JASON SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@SouLoveReal
07-12-13: Just this evening, I saw a Spanish language movie titled "Felicidades" (2000). It featured this song by Etta. I had never heard it before, and fell RIGHT IN LOVE with it. Good movie also... a sort of fast-paced, dry-witted, dead-panned, comedy/romance. Great line-up of Argentine actors, too!
@sophieleger6507
Beautiful!
@ladyofrowan
When it gives you chills before the first minute into the song, it's a keeper.
@maritobega
Lo escuche por primera vez en unas bellísima película argentina. llamada FELICIDADES, qué trata sobre la navidad y se asemeja bastante a como pasan esas fiestas la mayoría de los argentinos. Muchos felices pero muchos con melancolía y soledad.
Gran versión de Etta James. inolvidable
@bairesco
También descubrí la interpretación en el mismo film. Bellísimo ♥️
@franciscokiaolohmek8156
La pelicula FELICIDADES es muy bella y esta canción casi siempre hace llorar..y me recuerda mi Corazón de Navidad..
@andrescalamaro3964
La inclusión de esta versión en la película tiene una precisión quirúrjica, practicamente. El final exacto para describir características tan argentinas de la Navidad cuando se deja de ser niño. Y en un suspiro profundo, llama a la reflexión que combina la nostalgia y el agradecimiento, de que a pesar de todo, aquí estamos. Felicidades.
@AzucaNegra16
Beautiful version. Thanks Robotocho.
@femto2391
que película felicidades